Category: tools

There is a little meme going around FB right now with the title: Why Do Quilts Cost So Much. I’m not sure who created it or when, but the math on it is wrong:

If you add $159.88, $768.26, and $120… it adds up to $1048.14, not $888.26.

This was irking me a little, so I laid out an updated version:

I used all the same values as previous, only made the hourly rate $15/hr, because none of us should be creating for less than that. I kept the $11/yard of fabric, even though some fabric is more expensive… this seemed to be a good average cost. I tried to make it easier to read and added a bit about added cost of education, maintenance, and utilities too.

For an example, on my last quilt, I kept track of all my time and I spent over 91 hours on it and over 9 yards of fabric for the top. Even more time is spent because sometimes I piece my backs too… and this doesn’t touch time for design, layout and fabric choices. I do what I do because I’m driven to it as a creative expression, definitely not for the money!

A quilt will always be a treasure to its’ maker.

**AMENDED 1/5/2017**
I made another chart based off my Manipura quilt where I kept track of time to the minute.

It’s been pretty cold here in the PNW. Snow has been on the ground for days and I’ve been spending a lot of time indoors, and in sweaters! We had a family visit last week, and it took a while for me to get caught up with work after they left – so my daily blog post was neglected a few days.

I did get a little time to work on Hexie Hummingbird No.2 – I’m still sewing the individual hexies into rows. It will probably take another week or so to get to the next step, which is sewing the rows together.

You can see the missing sections… they are ready to travel in a hexie-roll. I can take this project on the go by rolling the hexies into a batting roll, and using a small plastic container as a dispenser. As you pull the batting, the hexies ‘pop’ out in the order and placement you need them. See more about how I put that together here.

This is my current sewing ‘kit’ situation. I have my hexie-roll, and all my tools and thread in a cardboard box (with lid). I always need a scissors, needles (which you can barely see here – they are on their side next to the scissors), a thimble, thread and thread conditioner. I have silk thread here for piecing my hexies, and the other threads, along with the clothespin and grey grip are used when I bind a quilt. My nephew drew a neat piece of art that makes me happy, and he left it there for me… so sweet!

So I’m off to get some more sewing done today, I’ll show my progress tomorrow, since I still want to keep up with the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge!

Here’s the box of all the pulled paper pieces from the dragon quilt… and thread too. I’m done!! I feel like I should throw it in the air for confetti effect in celebration, but I don’t really feel like cleaning it up. So, for now, they’ll just sit in the box. It’s hard to tell how many pieces are there, so I stuck my hand in for a better visual:

If you’re wondering… this is what 3,942 1/2″ hexie pieces look like without any fabric. What a great tool ~ the quilt top is very square and lies flat… which is a great start before actually quilting! Today I’m working on the border to finish the top. Well, actually, I think I’ll be cleaning my sewing room first, then the border. Priorities!

After doing some cutting on a regular height table top, my back started aching quite a bit and my hubby and I started discussing options for a cutting table. Lucky for me, his brain is always working and he thought of using old screen printing screens as the table base… and our neighbor had given us some wood last year that worked really well for the top… so with some work by Gregg, I have a brand new cutting table that is totally awesome!! I’m totally inspired to sew today… and I have the time too ~ I’m so happy! … here’s some pics, you can see my green room and my new piece of art “CherryBomb” from Portland artist Lisa Laser:

Today was a beautiful day, my walk was awesome. I love exploring neighborhoods as the weather changes… and right now, in February, crocus are blooming and daffodils are sprouting. It’s like spring out there and I love it. I think it’s because of that spring feeling that I picked out some new yellow fabrics for a swing at the monochromatic challenge by the Modern Quilt Guild. I’m really excited to start something new! I’ve been trying my hand at circles this weekend for use in the quilt. I made a pattern on Illustrator and traced the paper print out onto fabric and cut out the shapes. I’ve been making a few “mug rugs” to practice sewing on a curve. This is my first try:

Then I tried appliqué, I got this really cute deer fabric from a swap at the PMQG meeting a few months back:

I think I can do better a second time around with the sewn-in circle… but these will still work for a set of mug rugs 🙂

I found a plastic plate that can go over the feed dogs on my machine and I was really excited at first, but it’s still really hard to push the fabric around for free-motion-quilting. So either these will end up with straight lines or maybe I can get to Modern Domestic this Friday to used their machines… hmmm…

Gail Weiss - Lover of color and texture. Quilting is my joy!

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